By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Close to fifteen years ago, the hip hop world was introduced to several new regions full of hip hop talent. In Atlanta, the mainstream world learned how to throw bows, meanwhile the bounce hip hop in New Orleans took off and “whodi” entered the vocabulary. However, St. Louis is often the forgotten city in the Midwest, which also entertained fans for a few years.
Headlined by Nelly and the St. Lunatics, St. Louis hip hop took off and “derrty” became a popular phrase, dethroning “whodi.” Nelly would quickly set records for most chart-topping singles. Before his run was over, Nelly also introduced Murphy Lee to the masses and he enjoyed a bit of success.
However, it was in the 2003-2004 period when St. Louis began showing it had more stars outside of Nelly’s camp, when Ludacris signed Chingy. During this time, Jermaine Dupri would sign J-Kwon. Over the next few months, the two rappers would release a strong string of hit singles.
Nelly and Chingy, despite having friction, would prove to be the lasting stars from the St. Louis hip hop scene. Both rappers enjoyed tremendous amounts of success until 2007 and remain relevant, to date. In 2007, Huey would shake up the game with “Pop, Lock, & Drop It.” The song would prove to be his only claim to fame, however. Since then, St. Louis has been overlooked by the masses, but there are several St. Louis artists making waves in the rap game, among them Kenny Knox, Ruka Puff, Tef Poe, Skiddalz, and Nite Owl.
